Which bridge do New York City Marathon runners cross at the start?

New York City Marathon runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the race.

The bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn across the Narrows, the tidal strait separating the two boroughs. Marathon participants begin on Staten Island, cross the bridge, and then continue through Brooklyn before reaching the other boroughs on the route.

The bridge opened in 1964 and was named for Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Italian explorer who entered New York Harbor in 1524. Its distinctive double-deck suspension design makes it one of the race’s most recognizable opening landmarks.

Runners do not finish near the bridge: the marathon concludes in Central Park in Manhattan. The bridge is also commonly spelled with a single “z” in older references, but the official modern spelling is “Verrazzano-Narrows.”